Center Saturday

What an enjoyable week at school!
I loved teaching my little loves all about the letter Ee, the water cycle, -ed family, and reviewed time.

Here is a glimpse of our weekly work centers from this past week.

Let’s dive in and see how learning came alive at center time this week.

Math- I created this fun time matching game using mitten accents. One side had the clock face and the other had the analog time. Students had to match them times. This was not hard for them, but a great review. {Remember it is EASY to cut apart a worksheet and glue it down to accent pieces. Laminate it and you have a better, more creative assessment tool that your students will run to.}

Our writing center this week gave each student a chance to practice writing their sight words.

I love to use this paper called

Teacher Created Resources Smart Start K-1 Writing Paper: 100 sheets to write their words for them using a yellow or orange marker. After laminating, my students can practice writing the words and numbers with a dry erase marker over and over again.

Did you make a mistake? Erase and try again.

Tap the blue sky, bump the green bottom, cross the red picket fence. This paper might seem slightly expensive, but each station uses 5 sheets. Since we use it over and over again, it is WELL WORTH the cost.

Our reading center this week was a memory game for our kiddos to play practicing sight words. I put the words on snowflakes and instantly created a fun way to practice reading. I put hard pairs here too. I had the words but and put. I also had the words what and that. I love seeing my kids play games to learn. I also love to see how well they can play games: take turns, follow the rules, wait, be a good winner, be a good loser, etc.

https://sharingkindergarten.com/product/letter-pack-big-bundle/

Oh, letter Ee… you are not easy teach. You trick my little wonders with the letter I… but this week we will at least learn all about the long e and short e sounds. We used this game I created called Eagle’s Nest to sort the eggs by long and short e sounds. My kinders are not ready to sort short i and short e yet.They still confuse them a LOT.

{Note to self: Mary, cut the eggs out so this game looks cuter! What are you thinking girl! You know better!}

{This is a part of my Ee Activities Pack, which is part of this bundle.}

There is also a recording sheet that goes with it that is super cute!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Arctic-Animal-Unit-191611

Here is our unit center focusing on Winter Animals. We used the base ten block images to make numbers and write them on the iceberg. This was a challenge, but more than FUN for my kids to complete. I loved seeing their brains work building the numbers and writing them down.

{This is part of the Arctic Animal Unit.}

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Easy-as-Eskimo-Pie-1047868

And our last center this week was all about art. We created these amazingly adorable Eskimos! I thought I was in love with them before this project was completed by my little wonderfuls, but man… I love to see an art project through their eyes even more.

I love seeing their spin on how it looks. Oh, the life of a kindergarten teacher is the best!

{This is a part of my Easy as Eskimo Pie Unit.}

How were your centers this week?

Comments

Maryann says

January 25, 2014 at 9:13 pm

I love usingyour ideas! Thanks for the "Eskimo Pie" center! The art project was great and each one is different!
One question about writing – do you have a separate 'kid writing' time in your day and do you use writitng prompts? I tried to find an answer is the previous listings but must have missed it.
Thanks for always sharing!
Maryann
brennemm@carlisleschools.org

- Mary Amoson says
  
  January 25, 2014 at 9:32 pm
  
  Since we do daily 5, one of the 5 stations is Work on Writing. We either do handwriting or actually writing with a prompt or topic and word wall. I mix it up often, depending on what we are learning about… giving my kids both types of writing each week. Since we learned about Ee this week, we did handwriting with a teacher to really master that little e, so we used write me threes and such in Daily 5. We did this handwriting in centers because I knew that little e was in there and I wanted to see how they would do with it on their own.
  
TheElementary MathManiac says

January 26, 2014 at 2:28 am

Love your mitten time matching! It is so much more fun for kids if the worksheet has been cut into pieces and turned into a game. Much more fun and creative. The possibilities are endless!

Tara
The Math Maniac

- Mary Amoson says
  
  January 26, 2014 at 3:01 am
  
  So many people ask me how to make 'games' for their room… I always say… start with a worksheet you like and change it into a game. The students will run to it, work harder, and interact together…